Best Beach Tech of 2020

It’s finally summer in Edmonton, and just in time for the long weekend! Seems like a perfect time to go on a tour of local lakes and try out all the beaches within a two-hour drive from Edmonton, yes? But before you go, we have some ideas for setting yourself up with the best beach tech of 2020.

Best Beach Tech of 2020

E-Reader

Nothing too revelatory here – e-readers are a summer essential. But I have a very specific recommendation for you – The Kobo Forma.

If you got on the kick of minimalism in the past few years (especially during early quarantine, where many of us suddenly found ourselves stuck in our homes with all of our junk), you know the value of buying less physical books and more e-books. But many e-readers limit where you can access your content from. The Kobo Forma is a good fit for borrowing from Canadian libraries (who, if you didn’t know, lend out e-books as well) and for people who buy e-books from multiple sources.

Plus, it reads well in brightly lit conditions, like the beach.

What to read? Turns out, the big beach read of the year is actually called Beach Read. That’s handy!

Travel Safe

The beach is packed, and the whole family wants to go into the water. Are you an “it’ll be fine, no one will take our stuff” kind of person, or a “I guess I’ll stay behind to guard our stuff” kind of person? Luckily, there is a third option – a travel safe for your most “oh man, this would ruin our weekend if this went missing” gear – keys, wallet, jewellery.

Cooler/Speaker

Besides some sort of swim garment, the main beach essentials (for less crowded parts of the beach, please) are music and cold drinks. Why not both in a cooler that doubles as speakers and connects to your Bluetooth? This cooler/sound system is an Australian invention (because of course it is) and it’s most of your essentials in one. It has a USB charge cable and fits up to 16 cans of your favourite beverage with ice.

Solar Speakers

Not going to have access to power for quite a while? Then this Bluetooth speaker/power bank is a better option because they are solar powered.

Again, please don’t blare your music competitively at a busy beach.

Phone Protection

The hot, hot heat can be especially hard on your best pal – your phone. This protective sleeve keeps your phone cool (and protects it from the cold in the winter), as well as floats if you drop it in the water. It also protects your bestie from drops.

No more unexpected protective shutdowns in the middle of your favourite jam or while you are trying to record some beach antics.

Summer offers an opportunity to escape and relax. You don’t need tech for that. But we can’t help but think that this beach tech can help make your summer – as short as it is – even better.